Fall is for planting…right?

I know, I know. It’s February. The only thing on your mind right now is gearing up for the frantic spring season ahead. But the craziness will pass, and fall will be here before you know it.

And then the crowds return! Because fall is for planting…right? Talk to any gardening expert. They’ll tell ya autumn is the time to get out and dig. That bit of advice is everywhere: online, in magazines, in books. Customers should be flocking to the garden center to load up on shrubs, trees and other goodies.

But they’re not. Is it because consumers aren’t getting the message? There are enough gardening gurus out there pounding the idea into peoples’ heads. Or is it because consumers know they’ll find limited offerings at their local garden center?

This was the topic du jour on Garden Rant a while back. The folks running this blog are passionate about gardening and somewhat wary about the green industry. The informal poll that accompanies this post shows more than half of readers are ready to shell out some bucks for fall planting projects.

That’s great, but we have to face the retail reality. Garden centers are reluctant to bring in fresh merchandise when the first frost date is looming. If it doesn’t sell you have to slash prices to move it off the floor. Or overwinter it. With no guarantee that you’ll get people in to buy, it’s a risk that’s hardly worth taking.

But what about fulfilling customer expectations? You’re positioning yourself as THE source of gardening products and knowledge. What kind of message do you send when customers are faced with a barren nursery yard in the fall?

How can you win, as a retailer?

I’ll be exploring this topic in my Market Smart In-Depth column in the May issue of Garden Center. Let me know what you think about the “fall is for planting” movement -- or lack thereof. Leave us a comment, or drop me a line: smartinez@branchsmith.com.

--Sarah

Comments

[Sarah]

Trey at the Golden Gecko has something to say about this. Check out this entry: http://thegoldengecko.blogspot.com/2007/02/new-eco-learning-centers.html

[Bill Turk]

"Fall is For Planting" seems to work in the industry, but the disconnect with the consumer is huge. How can we connect? As a board member for the Southern Nursery Association, I can assure you that we struggle with this. We've been asked by our members through marketing research to help them connect with the consumer. We've got some thoughts that could ultimately connect industry to consumers through our August trade show, but miles to go before it happens. Ours, as well as other August trade shows should be well positioned to do what is right for the industry by helping make the "Fall is For Planting" connection to consumers. Any thoughts as to how?

[Sarah on behalf of Bob Sickles]

Comments from Bob Sickles, owner of Sickles Market:

Yes, we have been trying it for years and by and large it does get slowly but surely accepted. Having been in the business for over 25 years we are a long ways away from the limited offerings when I started. Our garden center is in the NE (NJ) years ago you never saw pansies or cabbage and Kale and all the offerings of grasses and other products. What has tended to steal the show from live is dead! Seasonal decoratives, pumpkins, gourds, corn stalks, and all sorts of Fall and in particular Halloween product win the consumers wallet over, especially if the weather is not pristine. They also naturally lead into Christmas (can I use that word?) and winter holiday planting. For a lot of garden centers like ourselves that do only a little growing and are mostly retail it is not practical to hold over product

Fall as a planting season will continue to grow, but I think it will be as I mentioned earlier slow and steady. Besides it gets us garden center people a chance to do our planting which almost never happens in the craziness of Spring.

Bob Sickles
Owner
Sickles Market LLC
Little Silver, NJ

[Sarah on behalf of Ken Brizzi]

I’m a 29 year manager of a large northern California retail nursery. We have an excellent supply of plants every fall – very far from barren! Past “Fall is for Planting” campaigns produced weak results. Our campaigns included newspaper advertising, garden writer’s columns, fall vegetable clinics, fall bulb planting clinics, kids bulb festival events, radio promotions and mailers.
 
I’m certain that our customer’s biological clocks determine their mood for planting and gardening. In spring, our customers mood is pro planting as they think about preparing their yards for summer parties, Easter egg hunts, weddings, birthdays, swimming (or at least, running through the sprinklers), having neighbor’s and friends get together for Saturday BBQ’s, etc. By contrast, in the fall, they think about getting the kids to school, cold, short days, Thanksgiving and Christmas, etc. all non-outdoor events. They are relieved to know that the garden and lawn will soon be resting for winter, and they will be, too. To encourage gardening in winter, retailer nurseries have to make emotional connections with gardeners that will inspire them to plant.
 
The first of our two of our efforts to overcome the “resting biological clock” center around promising color for fall – Camellia sasanqua, primroses, pansies, violas, snaps, cyclamen, colorful fall and winter foliage, etc. The second effort promises spring flowers while doing all the work now – spring bulbs, perennials, shrubs etc.
I haven’t figured out a great emotional connection, but instead, I have a logical incentive I’m thinking of proposing that could stimulate fall planting sales. It promotes our second effort and parallels our suppliers “delayed billing” program. The idea is that our customers pay for purchases in spring, when the gratification appears. An example is that in fall, Ms. Smith buys spring flowering bulbs, perennials etc. and uses a Capital Nursery charge card that gives her interest free credit for 3 to 4 months in winter. When her plants are greening up and she knows blooms are forming, she pays her bill. The logic to entice her to purchase in fall is that all winter her new plants are growing (the roots are, anyway) while her savings account continues growing. Come spring, her plants will be so much prettier and larger than if she had waited until March to plant. In a way, this plays into one’s emotions of greed, or getting ahead, or being the envy of neighbors.
 
Delayed payment could work well for the retailer since many wholesalers offer delayed billing terms for winter and so the retailer is not “out” anything financially. Retailers pay their suppliers as Ms. Smiths pays her bill. The BIG advantage for the retailer  and Ms. Smith is that both work during our slower months and can do other things in spring. Our suppliers win because, by extending the selling months, we will sell more turns per year. Suppliers will end up selling more plants to retailers, and both will make more money! Ms. Smith wins because FALL IS FOR PLANTING – just ask her plants.

Ken Brizzi, Merchandising Manager
Sacramento, CA